C182 to SR22

Guest Discussion
1

I sold my C182 today after ten years of reliable recreational flying in a relatively low cost machine. I have agonized about doing this for some time now, but have finally decided that life is too short and the desire for more speed, comfort, and safety is more important than trying to justify the economics.

I would love to hear from other former 182 owners who have purchased the SR22 and find out how they liked the transition. Is it worth it to spend $350,000 on a brand new bird when your old reliable one was bought and paid for?

There are no hangers available at my Southern CA airport and I would also like to know how difficult it is to push/pull this machine with a tow bar. Also, how does the paint hold up in an outside coastal environment and has anyone experienced any leaks.

My original plan was to buy a late model T210, but after test flying the SR22 I fell foolishly in love with this new age aircraft.

2

In reply to:

I sold my C182 today after ten years of reliable recreational flying in a relatively low cost machine. I have agonized about doing this for some time now, but have finally decided that life is too short and the desire for more speed, comfort, and safety is more important than trying to justify the economics.

I would love to hear from other former 182 owners who have purchased the SR22 and find out how they liked the transition. Is it worth it to spend $350,000 on a brand new bird when your old reliable one was bought and paid for?

There are no hangers available at my Southern CA airport and I would also like to know how difficult it is to push/pull this machine with a tow bar. Also, how does the paint hold up in an outside coastal environment and has anyone experienced any leaks.

My original plan was to buy a late model T210, but after test flying the SR22 I fell foolishly in love with this new age aircraft.

Kim,

Falling in love with the SR22 is no more foolish than falling in love with flying.

I’m not (yet) completely qualified to answer your main question – I did sell my C182RG to buy a Cirrus, but I bought an SR20, which I continue to love after over 2 1/2 years and 900 hours of very pleasurable flying. BUT… my '20 went on the market yesterday, to make room for a '22… so soon enough, I will be a '22 owner.

Worth it? Always a personal value-judgment, but for me… YES. No doubt. The 182 was great, but flying the Cirrus is a lot simpler and less fussy (shorter checklists, especially if your 182 was retractable; no cowl-flaps, combined throttle/prop control, etc.). Mostly, though, you never stop feeling that you’re flying a truly modern machine. My family (and for that matter, ALL my passengers) like the Cirrus a whole lot more than they liked my 182.

Pulling with a tow-bar - comparable to the C182. Not easy, but do-able. Pushing: Fuhgeddaboudit. Barely possible, but guaranteed to bring on use of flowery language, paricularly if you have to go up an incline or if you hit a pebble with a wheel. Either get help (one more person will do) or get some sort of power-tow thing. A big difference in pushing back is that the free-castering nosewheel always wants to snap all the way over in one direction or the other when you’re moving backwards, so you have to devote more concentration, and some effort, to steering.

My SR20 is pampered and hangared, so I’ll let others address the paint’s resistance to the elements; I’ve heard that it does fine. Any leaks are squawks - there have been some, but they get fixed. I had one fuel sump valve develop a drip at about 200 hours - it was replaced under warranty. No other leak problems.

Finally - if you’ve fallen in love with the SR22, you can’t afford not to join COPA. There’s a wealth of wisdom and wit (some silliness as well) on “the other side”. And TONS of information. If you join and don’t agree that it was a great use of $50, I’ll personally refund your money. (If you buy a new SR22, Cirrus will give you a 60-day free trial membership of COPA. Don’t wait for that – when you get it, we’ll extend your membership by 60 days.)

  • Mike.
3

Kim, I took delivery of my 22 on Monday, Feb. 24. I received a call from my wife on that Wednesday nite in Duluth that a man had just made her an offer on my 1982 182R. Some timing - he flew it away to Salt Lake City the following Friday.

I had the same concerns, as I had grown very comfortable and confident in my Skylane after 510 hours. It had a wonderful King panel with all the available stuff as of 1997. I regularly flew in IMC, and my dispatch was 100 percent.

My 22 is fully equipped and now has approx 145 hours. I have become very comfortable using this plane for all types of cross country flying, a very good thing since the weather in the southeast has been a real challenge this spring/summer and has kept alot of VFR only planes on the ground. My plane delivers book performance, and the few sqwawks have been covered under warranty. I have been unhappy with the amount of oil on the belly, and am hoping a remedy for this is coming (I do have an air oil separator). The only thing on my wish list would be a steam guage HSI slaving to either of the Garmins as backup to the PFD. As Mike says, COPA adds greatly to Cirrus owning and flying. I was a CPA member for years and enjoyed it tremendously, but this COPA thing is just the best.

Bottom line is that I wondered about the wisdom of replacing my Skylane with any kind of plane. Six months later I am glad I did. The total experience has been very great.

4

Kim:

I sold a ‘bought and paid for’ 182 for a SR22 last year, and I can assure you that you will definitely feel like you’ve moved forward half a century in technology every time you fly it. It’s a real thrill to move from one of the most common to one of the most modern aircraft at your field!

The biggest plusses for me, beyond the obvious newness and appearance difference and resulting passenger comfort…sheer speed & climb performance, wonderful situational awareness, outstanding visibility, great cabin comfort and amenities, really awesome avionics. The Cirrus is a very easy aircraft to fly and land from a stick-and-rudder perspective.

Negatives compared to a 182…mostly what you’d expect from any fast, slippery aircraft… Requires planning ahead to get down and slow down (but not hard at all when you do plan). Lands a lot faster but much easier to ‘grease’ than the 182. A bit more of a challenge to integrate into a busy traffic pattern. Takes more runway, exp. to land…I think of 3000 feet or more as ‘OK’, anything less as ‘short’.

I personally feel that the 182 is forgiving enough for pilots with low time or marginal currency, yet capable enough for serious travel. I think the Cirrus adds quite a bit in serious travel capability at the cost of some measure of being ‘forgiving’, perhaps in part because it seems so safe and easy to fly that some may be tempted to become complacent. The avionics demand serious training to use to their full capabilities; many people, including me, think the avionics are at times distracting. I certainly pay a whole lot more attention to currency and safety with the Cirrus, and would urge you to think ‘continuing training’ rather than ‘checkout’ as a cost of ownership.

I had some trepedation about maintenance of a ‘plastic’ airplane, but I have yet to see any indication of this being a factor…although mine is hangered. The paint, for example, is pretty much the same stuff they paint metal airplanes with, and the ones I’ve seen parked outdoors look no worse for the weather as far as I can tell.

Bottom line…if you really want to fly, not just putt around some weekends, it will change your life. Good luck!

Tim

5

Kim this post will be very similar to Mike’s post. We owned a c182n, fixed gear. Great plane, stable IFR platform, load 4 adults, full fuel, and baggage and shut the doors and go. Sold it in favor of a Cirrus 20. Have now decided to upgrade to a 22, and are selling our 20. Why the 22? Primarily because of our flying profile. We live in Nebraska and the majority of our flying is west vs. east. The extra performance of a 22 as compared to a 20, and the fact that the 22 is truly a four person airplane better suits our needs. Our 182 was a great airplane for a 33 years old. But compared to the Cirrus, either 20 or 22 it was still old airplane technology. The 182 was like driving a pickup as compared to the Cirrus which fallis into the sports car category. One thing to be sure–things will happen alot faster in a 22 as compared to the 182. On the other hand you will significantly more situational awareness in the Cirrus.

6

Hi,
I got into a Cirrus SR22 after having a majority of my time in the 182Q. I really liked that 182 I was flying, but after becoming comfortable in the 22, there’s almost no going back. The checkout was an eye-opener in the completely new level of performance and avionics, and to echo a comment made by another, it is indeed like jumping ahead decades. I actually wrote a story about my checkout at the factory in Duluth and here’s the link:
http://www.cirrusdesign.com/jeffberlin/duluth/index.html

Regarding moving the airplane around on the ramp, the 22 is a bit heavy to be pushing around alone. The ramp guys at an FBO in LA, where they’re used to moving around big planes, often commented how the 22 was deceptively heavy to push or pull around. I, personally, hated to move it on my own, so get help if you can.

The Continental 470 on the 182 I was flying was amazingly smooth, and I do notice some vibration in the 22, but it’s not uncomfortable or of concern.

There’s no comparing the ergonomics of the plane’s interior and its comfort. Again, the 22 displays a real evolution in thought and concern for design. I’ve flown 4.5 hour legs in the plane and still had a spring in my step when I emerged.

Things do happen faster in the 22, and that’s something you’ll need to get used to, but you will and will then appreciate the ground you’ll be covering. The 22 is a true traveling airplane. You’ll start to think further ahead and your flying will become, in my opinion, more precise.

The avionics can be a bit of a hurdle to the vintage 182 driver, but again, take the time to learn them, all of them, as I did, and you’ll be fine.

You’ve made a terrific decision and will be very happy in your purchase.

Jeff

7

Hi,

I sold my 2001 T182T 2 months ago to switch to an SR22. My Turbo 182T was a great machine and I had 2 years of zero-trouble flying with great performance. I also fell in love with the SR22 after a demo flight. Here is my 2 cents after spending a month with my SR22:

+) The SR22 is much more comfortable than the 182. I can fly a whole day still feel great. The 182 has seats that came out of a chevette.

+) The performance of the SR22 is outstanding. On my last trip I was cruising at 173 KTAS @ 9000 burning 13.5 GPH. My 182 would cruise at 155 KTAS @ 9000 burning 15.5 GPH

+) SR22 Ergonomics are second to none. After 10 hours in the SR22 I feel that everything is exactly where my brain expects it to be. After 2 years in the 182 I was still uncomfortable with where everything is.

+) After 40 hours in the SR22 I find that it is the easiest plane I ever flew.

Now for the negative stuff:

-) I had 5 things go wrong since I got the plane … Bad Mag, MFD has a flicker and needs to be replaced, STEC needs a new ALT transducer, Nose wheel shimmy, vibration etc… All these problems have or in the process of being fixed. However this is a far cry from my totaly trouble-free experience with a new 182.

-) Vibration … while not a huge problem, it does not compare to the silky smooth 182. I hope Cirrus fixes this problem soon.

-) Lack of authorized service centers in Canada, we only have one in the entire country.

Having said all of that … I can tell you that every time I go up in the SR22 I get a grin that lasts for a week. I am in love with this plane. If I had to do it all over again I would still trade the 182 for the SR22.

All the best and good luck.

8

Kim,
You made a wise choice. I owned a pristine 1982 C182 for 10 years. I have a tendency to get attached to inanimate objects so selling my Skylane was difficult but she went to a good owner. My family tolerated trips in the Skylane but love flying in our SR22. The visibility is much better, she is faster, more comfortable and makes for quicker trips. My son likes to sit in front and look at the high tech panel, my daughter likes to plug her MP3 player in and entertains us with her singing, my wife likes the visibility and the idea of the parachute. The transition for me was primarily planning descent (much faster and slicker), learning the capabilities of the state of the art avionics and hot starting the fuel injected engine. Check out Bruce’s Custom Covers for protecting your Cirrus. You could cover the entire airplane if you wished.
Welcome to the Cirrus family,
Don Kusenberger
SR22 N41XP

9

Kim,

A lot has already been said about the joys of flying this aircraft. Therefore I agree with then but will add my experiences to date concerning pulling and pushing the plane with a tow bar, leaks, and storing the plane outside which I have been doing since becoming an owner in March.

The tiedown I use is one is a drive through which requires no tow bar work. I do use the tow bar provided to move the plane so that I can line up the tire valves with the holes for check air pressure. I do this single handed with some effort. The most difficult moment is the initial push/pull because of the “set” of the tires. Once I move the plane it is not difficult but does take some muscle.

Since my plane is exposed in the tiedown, I do cover the body with the large Bruce Covers cover which I strongly recommend. This takes care of covering the cowl all to about the last 1/3 of the body. It also covers down to the wing fairing tops but also allows you to enter the plane by opening the pilot door buckle and the Velco.

The aircraft was waxed with WX block wash and sealer followed by WX block. It is a lot of work but turned out good. I assume I will have to do this again sometime in October but will only have to do the exposed wing tops and the rear. In between I use Wash and Wax All which is easy to use and all cleans the bugs and stuff off with little effort.

As far as leaks are concerned I have had a baggage door leak which was fixed by the service center. I am now experiencing the debonding of the wing fairings which is a subject of another posting I just inserted in the Members Section. This is of concern now which will require a 2 day visit to the service center to resolve. I hope this upcoming visit will take car of this problem.

I know that 4 months on an open tiedown does not clue one in to any longer period problems but I intend to keep the plane well waxed with wx block which does have a UV block. I chose this material because of its use by the glider folks who have ben using it for a number of years with good results.

Good Luck,

Emil

10

Just to balance the ledger, I came across this hit-piece on the SR22 vs the 182T. If you can review this and still feel good about your Cirrus purchase, you are making the right choice. It presents the other side of the story about as well as it can be done.

11

Just in case you need one more opinion, I will add my praises of trading up from a 182 to an SR22. I owned my 1980 182Q for 2 1/2 years prior to taking delivery of my Cirrus. I even installed a garmin panel to ensure an easy transition to the SR22. It was a wonderful airplane and served me well. The word “served” is important as I feel the Cirrus lets me enjoy getting there as opposed to working to get there. I consider my new technology Cirrus to be light-years ahead of the 50 yr old technologically 182 and I love it, replaced mag, repeatedly replaced flap relays, oil-on-the-belly, and stuck elevator trim notwithstanding.
Enjoy. You did the right thing! Tim

12

Thanks for all the encouraging information. My 182 is also going to a good home and the 300 hour VRF buyer is just as excited about buying my 182 as I am about the SR22. Fortunately, I have been flying behind a Garmin 530 for two years so the avionics learning curve should not be too difficult.

After ten years and over 1000 hours in the 182 I have become bored flying at 140 knots and really look forward to stretching my abilities and extending my horizons. I never thought I would spend three times the sales price of my 182 for this type of aircraft just for recreational flying. This is definitely an expensive toy, but I am just as excited about purchasing one as I was when first learning to fly. This should provide some serious cross country fun for friends and family.

13

Kim,

If you are ever flying through Little Rock Adams give me a call. I would like to check out your 22 and we can exchange 182 stories.
Don Kusenberger

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Very aggressive marketing piece, but on the whole fair and where actual facts are involved, it does not distort them.

In the subjective areas like “comfort/ease of entry” and “ease of ground handling” I would just disagree with what they write but I know other pilots might not–it’s an individual judgment.

A personal airplane is one of the most emotional, least practical decisions we make in our lives, so the marketplace will have the final word–who sells more airplanes and importantly, how many repeat customers does Cirrus have vs. Cessna?

I’m one who chose to stay with a 182 (albeit a substantially modified version) and many of my own reasons were covered there. Nonetheless I think the SR2X is a marvelous airplane and when/if I can afford to own a second plane that’s what it will be!

15

I appreciated reading the pro-182 statistics and I am sure many of them are probably correct. I learned to fly in a Cessna 172 and have over 1,000 hours in a 182. I think Cessna is a great company, and they make very stable, reliable aircraft.

What this all boils down to for me is that I am tired of flying around in a pick-up-truck, even though it is safe, stable, and proven World War II technology. At this stage of my life I would rather fly in a BMW with state-of-the-art avionics and a back-up safety option that could save my life it the engine quits at night over irregular terrain.

I appreciate the pioneering spirit of Cirrus to not be afraid to take the next step in general aviation.

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I might be the only COPA member who owns a T182T!After considering a SR22, I bought a T182T for three reasons:1. Safety2. Happy experience with 172SP3. Too many Cirrus squawksMy experiences so far?1. T182T was the right decision. I fly sporadically, sometimes 30 hours a month, sometimes nothing. (Fortunately a partner keeps the plane’s engine moving in between my flights.). I can do this in the T182T because I have 400 hours in Cessnas. It would be dangerous to fly sporadically in a new plane, especially a fast, slippery one with a 59-knot stall speed.2. That said, the T182T is not a fun plane to fly . . . not even as fun as the 172SP. I don’t feel passionate about it. I envy you SR22 owners who feel that way about your planes.

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Emil,

Thanks for sharing this information with me. My 182 was not difficult for me to push backwards into the tie down area with a tow bar, but it looks like the Cirrus could be a challenge. I have been looking at 60 lb portable, drill powered tow bar, that might do the job. I have also looked at the Bruce’s Custom covers web site and can see that you could even cover the wings if you were ambitious enough.

We used a cockpit cover on the 182 when it was tied down and we had a set of sun shields we took with us on trips. The sun shields took up less space and weight in the baggage compartment, and they were easier and faster to deploy. I will also be looking for a set of these, in addition to the cover, for the Cirrus.

I used to fly my 182 to a Big Bear, CA every year and have a company called Wing Waxers buff out the paint and put on a teflon coating. I would then just have the plane washed regularly and not wax it. I don’t know if this is the best way to treat the composite finish of a Cirrus and will do some research.

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In reply to:

I don’t know if this is the best way to treat the composite finish of a Cirrus and will do some research.

Many Cirri have had great results with Wing Waxers, but do wait 90 days after taking delivery before applying anything other than water to the airplane.

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Kim,

I find the large Bruce cover to be excellent and easy to put on by one person - myself. When flying I put this cover in the baggage area but will not take it if I may have a weight problem or need to juggle the fuel load vs weight. As far as getting a full set of sun shields, I have been advised that the primary need is for the front windshield. I do have this shield along and also cowl plugs for the times I only deploy the sun shields - keeps the critters out.

Waxing the plane is a very subjective area of discussion with many opinions and thoughts. I chose to do it my self initially and selected the WX Block system which is similar to the one Wing Waxers uses. They are both non-silicon based and both have UV blocking capability. I like to do it myself because during the process I have the opportunity to examine the plane totally. I also do touchup with Wash and Wax ALL on the belly (remove the residue oil) once a month and use Eliminator 3 to help clean some of the tough spots. I also periodically do the leading edges of the wings and cowl with Wash and Wax All as it does a good job for the amount of effort that one puts into it.

as far as periodically washing the plane is concerned, for the most part I let mother nature do it. The only exception is when the pollen is around which will leave a film on the surface. The wash material I use is a bucket of water with a little PLANE BRITE Dura Wash. A little goes a long way here. After this wash (usually only the horizontal surfaces need to be done) I reapply WX Block or Wash and Wax All to complete the job. This process seems to work well but I continue “tune” this process.

Good Luck,

Emil

20

Opinion seems to be split on cover vs shades. East Coaster’s seem to prefer shades because the cover is harder to handle in the rain. Us arid-coasters seem to prefer the covers.
Similar divide occurs on the question of air-conditioning. Us left-coasters say why do you need it–just open the doors. South-Easter’s respond that doesn’t work when it hot&raining. We say hot and raining?!?!?